The Who’s Roger Daltrey slams Zak Starkey for “character assassination” following firing
The Who’s Roger Daltrey has hit out at former band drummer Zak Starkey, saying his remarks after his firing were “incredibly upsetting” and a “character assassination”.
Starkey was previously fired from the band twice for reasons that both sides have since disputed. Daltrey and Pete Townshend claimed it to be a mistake he made during their performance at the Royal Albert Hall, after which a spokesperson said the band “made a collective decision” to “part ways” with Starkey.
Starkey, the son of Ringo Starr and drummer for The Who for 29 years, was replaced by Scott Devours in May, who would instead be joining the band for their farewell tour in North America.
The band later said that the decision for Starkey to leave the band had been mutual, which Starkey refuted, saying he had been made to agree with the statement when he hadn’t wanted to leave at all. He also said that the mistakes during the Royal Albert Hall performance were caused by Daltrey during the song ‘The Song is Over,’ saying that “what happened was I got it right and Roger got it wrong.”
Now, Daltrey has addressed the comments in a recent interview with The Times, saying, “It was kind of a character assassination and it was incredibly upsetting.” He also clarified what happened during the infamous Royal Albert Hall performance, adding, “It is controlled by a guy on the side, and we had so much sub-bass on the sound of the drums that I couldn’t pitch.”
He continued, “I was pointing to the bass drum and screaming at [Starkey] because it was like flying a plane without seeing the horizon. So when Zak thought I was having a go at him, I wasn’t. That’s all that happened.” Concluding: “Pete and I retain the right to be the Who. Everyone else is a session player.”
Elsewhere, Starkey previously revealed how his father has been supporting him during the dispute, telling Rolling Stone that Starr said he’s “never liked the way that little man runs that band”. He also told The Sun that Starr “wasn’t happy” and that he “saw the show on TV and was a bit like, ‘What the f*ck?’. He didn’t think anything was a sackable offence. Apart from the ticket price.”
Despite the ongoing feud, however, Starkey also said he had no hard feelings, explaining, “It’s The Who. Weirder shit than this has gone down. I’ve heard them say weirder shit than this. It’s The Who — the maddest band there’s ever been.” He also said the band has an “addiction to friction” and that they are “fucking insane”.
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